Voters must decide whether preserving land is worth cost

ELECTION 2006 - NATURAL LANDS REFERENDUM

October 29, 2006|By Robert PeRez, Sentinel Staff Writer

Tucked among state and local candidate races and proposed charter changes on the Nov. 7 ballot is a referendum question that calls on Seminole voters to renew their commitment to the county's claim of being Florida's "natural choice."

Proponents of the referendum, to buy and preserve lands and build more trails, say there is something more important at stake.

It may be the last real shot at preserving land that recharges the state's underground aquifer.

"We're approaching a crisis and this is one of many actions we can take," said Michael Barr, chairman of the Seminole County Soil and Water Conservation Board. "We need to preserve recharge areas. Recharge is the only free water we get."

County voters have twice supported tax-financed efforts to preserve environmentally sensitive lands -- in 1990 and 2000. That previous $45 million commitment would expand by $70 million if the referendum is approved, adding 20 cents in property taxes for every $1,000 of valuation for the next 10 years.

The money would allow up to 4,000 additional acres to be preserved and would help complete more than 50 miles of paved trails and 20 miles of wilderness trails.

Michelle Thatcher, chairwoman of the Friends of Natural Lands and Trails political committee, said community and business leaders view the continuing preservation efforts as an investment in the future "both economically and environmentally."

The referendum will allow trail systems to be linked across the county and into neighboring counties, Thatcher said. That would benefit public health and safety, traffic congestion, property values and tourism, she said.

"It's important for people to realize that there is economic and environmental value to this," she said. "It has to do with quality of life."

Seminole is one of the most densely developed counties in the state, Barr said, and the amount of undeveloped land is quickly shrinking. That is why buying prime recharge property is crucial, he said.

"What we're faced with is a shot at our future," he said.

The idea of including high-recharge areas wasn't part of the original proposal, but Barr and others pushed to add it.

"We won a fight to get this in there," he said. "I feel like, every year, we're going to have to fight for more."

That battle will be a tough one in developer-friendly Seminole County. The reason? Prime recharge areas are generally prime developable parcels.

Barr said voters must understand that the referendum offers a crucial water-conservation strategy at a bargain price.

"It's $30 a year for the average homeowner," he said. "And each acre we preserve can add so much to property values."